I’m tired of being bored. So I’ve decided I need to make my college experience better. I’m only going to be a freshman once – if my grades this semester work out according to plan – and I want to be able to look back on this year with no regrets of wasted time. There is always something going on here. The Union screens popular foreign movies, the Student University Recreational Complex organizes intramural sports and a VH1’s “Best Week Ever” came to the Union Theater Saturday night. With all the University has to offer, I still end up sitting on Facebook.com in my room a lot. I’m sure many people, especially freshmen, are in the same boat. I live on campus in a residence hall surrounded by people, the University has something going on all the time and I have friends and family just a trip down the hall or a phone call away, but I can’t stop checking my news feed no matter how stalker-like it is. I think it’s because I’ve gone through this year in auto-pilot. Make friends, check. Make decent grades, check. Get a job, check. It sounds right, but it’s actually pretty empty. It isn’t much good having friends if you hang out about once a week. My grades are alright, but not as good as they could be if I did what my parents have been nagging me to do since second grade – “apply myself.” The time has come to heed my parents’ advice; I’m going to start applying myself. I’ll make my parents’ dream come true and apply myself in my studies but also in the other aspects of my life. I’ve become proactive with my job and started exploring possible careers with my interests in biology, literature and writing. I had a talk with one professor and scheduled coffee with another. I’ve already started making more plans with friends and have begun checking out leisure classes. No more five-time daily Facebook checks. But the real test will be academically – forgive the pun. All of my midterms are this week, and I need to be able to resist my resuscitated social life, buckle down and study. It’ll be hard, but I know I can do it. It’s time to take off the auto-pilot.
—-Contact Emily McArdle at [email protected]